Murder musical kills at Cape Playhouse

A tall Irish priest with compelling dark eyes visits a just-widowed woman in her New York City apartment, to offer some words of comfort.

Barbara Clark

KATHLEEN A. FAHLE PHOTO

CRIME OF PASSION – "Kit" Gill (Bradley Dean) and Carmella (Judith Blazer) cozy up before Kit delivers a lethal smooch to his dance partner in No Way to Treat a Lady at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis.

No Way to Treat a Lady is a treat for all

A tall Irish priest with compelling dark eyes visits a just-widowed woman in her New York City apartment, to offer some words of comfort. Ooops … What’s his idea of comfort? He assures her that she’s “Only a Heartbeat Away” from joining her lost hubby, then proceeds to strangle her, planting a big kiss on her forehead with bright red lipstick! Right from the get-go, the musical thriller No Way to Treat a Lady, on stage at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, delivers as promised, with its “devilish blend of humor, romance and murder.” The performance moves at a fast pace, from its tuneful, snappy lyrics to downright hilarious antics to whip-smart moments of tension, and comes through on all fronts.

The soulful killer is none other than “Kit” Gill (played by Bradley Dean), a failed actor-turned-serial killer. All the poor guy wants is to achieve a semblance of the notoriety his famous mother achieved on stage, and win her approval – although the lady herself is recently dead, her voice is constantly reminding him of his failures. What Kit wants most of all is to make the front page of The New York Times. He pursues his goal by carrying off a series of lipstick-y murders, hilariously impersonating a succession of characters, from priest to dance instructor to pizza deliveryman, and even the detective who’s pursuing him.

In another part of town, police detective Morris Brummell (Josh Grisetti) wakes up to the squawking voice of his mother, Flora, in the apartment they’ve shared (for 12 years), and where he’s just had a lovely nighttime dream of a beautiful damsel. The hapless detective addresses one stockinged foot, musically intoning, “Where is there a mate for this lonely sock?” His luck changes, however, when he’s assigned to hunt for the elusive killer, and he too gets roped into dreams of glory involving a front-page spread in the Times.

Morris and Kit and their burdensome moms form the heart of this entertaining and sometimes scary spectacle, with a romantic angle added by Sarah (Stacie Morgain Lewis), an upscale gallery employee who falls for Morris. Both Dean and Grisetti have beautiful stage voices, and they’re used here to pitch-perfect effect. Lewis, also in fine voice, adds a soulful note to the wild proceedings. Balancing these top-flight performances is the marvelously comic Judith Blazer, who plays numerous roles, including both moms and the unfortunate women who suffer Kit’s lethal smooch. Her fine comedic range as Flora draws a houseful of laughs, and her flourishes, sounds and high steps as dancer Carmella stand out as one of the evening’s many comic highlights. The ever-resourceful Kit, in the mood of the moment, croons “You’re Safer in My Arms” during the pair’s over-the-top dance number, before dispatching his luckless partner.

The ability to carry off this funny, frightening evening also relies on the staging of this clever show, and it comes off without a hitch, thanks to the skill of director Mark Shanahan and choreographer Jennifer Waldman. Clever movable sets slide smoothly to define space and create mood. Sound effects are perfectly timed – a finger pushing air turns into a doorbell ring; a perfectly timed gunshot or scream explodes at exactly the right moment; and stagecraft joins sound effects in a well-timed choreography of onstage movements. The actors exchange places or meet and part quickly, with in-sync duets or trios sung as they come and go upstage, downstage or offstage. Musical numbers overlap, sometimes from “different parts of town.” All these tricks, trials and tunes succeed, and the cast delivers on the show’s fast-paced lyrics, always clear from beginning to end.

Douglas Cohen, who wrote the book, music and lyrics for the show, was in the audience on opening night. Cohen, who has spent summers on Cape Cod with his family since he was a baby, admitted to this reviewer that he’d been a theater junkie since the age of 2, when he was taken to the Melody Tent by his parents and got so excited they feared he’d drop his ice cream cone on the person in the next row. Later in his career he played clubs around the Cape as a pianist/vocalist. Before the lights went down again, he confirmed how much he was enjoying the show, and said he hoped this reviewer would find the remainder of the performance a treat. I did. How could you resist Kit’s show-stopping number “Once More from the Top,” complete with lighting worthy of the Great White Way? No Way to Treat a Lady is a great summer treat.

No Way to Treat a Lady is at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis through July 9, with performances Monday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday at 2 p.m., and July 2 at 4 p.m. For tickets, call 877-385-3911 or go to www.capeplayhouse.com.